Finding Home
by Brain in the Gutter
Summary: Orphaned and then raised from a young age by the Clan, Bella is used to being a little different than everyone else. How much different could she really be? Will she ever find a place to call home? Selkie/AU BxJ
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Orphaned and then raised from a young age by the Clan, Bella is used to being a little different than everyone else. How much different could she really be? Will she ever find a place to call home? Selkie/AU BxJ

AN: The bulk of this chapter has not changed, I just deleted the future takes so that I could continue the story on. Second chapter to post soon.

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**Finding Home**

**Santa Monica Pier, CA, Spring 1992**

The lights were bright and the moon was shining a weak contrast as we weaved through the crowd packing the pier like sardines in a can. Music from the various rides and games were only muffling the screams of patrons as they tilted, whirled, and zoomed. My mother's hand was warm and solid as we hurried away from the red-eyes that had been chasing us.

The end of the pier loomed ahead of us and her urgency increased. She knelt down in front of me, the worry etched on her brow as she pulled the worn skin from her purse. Wrapping it around my shoulders, she said, "Swim hard, swim fast. Kwala just left for the North, you should be able to catch up to her. Don't look back."

I was given no chance to protest as she pushed me off the edge of the pier, the darkness of the corner we were in giving cover to my fall. There was hardly a splash as the water enclosed me in its welcoming embrace. The skin shifted, stretched, covered, encased. My head popped out of the water and I took one last glance at my mother, her willowy form silhouetted by the lights.

"Go, Bella, go!" My little ears, which were better suited to hearing underwater, barely caught her yell before she was sucked back into the crowd.

Flipping over, I sliced down through the water, my fins flipping hard, meeting little resistance. An explosion on the pier sent waves of impact through the water, pushing me further along before I u-turned and arose to the top. My mother's skin which had always felt a little loose on me, tightened, becoming snug to my own dimensions. Knowing that this meant she had died, I surfaced and was met with a burning pier and lots of debris in the water.

"Momma, NO!" I screamed out, my words just barks pouring from my snout. Burning pieces of wood and ash were falling the closer I got to the burning pier. The smell of blood was thick in the water from the injured bodies. I dodged and weaved trying to get closer.

Dark shapes were tracking through the water.

Sharks.

Momma had told me about them.

I had to go.

_Kwala!_ I wailed into the water, pushing myself as hard as I could. Dodging out of the way of the encroaching sharks, I just barely missed one as it tried to take a chunk out of my fins.

Pushing hard into the water, I swam faster than I ever had before. One of the sharks followed, hoping to make an easy meal of me. _Kwala!_ I called out again.

The dark shapes of Kwala and her clan as they turned in my direction, scared me at first, having never seen more than two or three at a time. Spotting Kwala among the twenty or so Orcas facing me, I sped towards her.

Two of the orcas, Shipa and one that I had never met, chased off the trailing shark while I nuzzled into Kwala.

_Young one, what happened to your mother? I smell her but can no longer sense her._ Kwala sung out to me.

_Gone. She said to find you. And then the pier exploded._ I sung back.

_Then you will stay with us. Grab fin._ Kwala said as she turned back toward the north. I grasped onto her top fin, letting her take my weight since my small body wouldn't be able to swim very far.

**Second Beach, La Push, WA, Summer, 1999.**

The boy was crying silently, curled up next to a piece of driftwood. I tugged the fur tightly around me, wondering where ground walkers got the fabric they wrapped themselves in. The only fabrics I had were from when I dove into the ocean when I was five, and they no longer fit my almost eleven year old body.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. It was hard remembering the words the ground walkers used, pushing the sounds out of my throat.

He glanced up at me, fisting the tears off of his cheeks, " 'm not crying."

"You smell of salt, and not of the ocean. What's the matter?" I asked.

"My momma died." he said, devastation painting his face.

"Oh, so did mine." I reached out a hand to him, holding his firmly in my grasp as I sat down next to him and stared out into the ocean.

**Late Fall, 1999.**

"How come you never have any clothes? You're always wrapped up in that ratty old fur." the boy asked. Clothes, I remembered them being called that from before.

It was one of my trips to land. Kwala said I needed to remember my feet, but that didn't make sense since they were always just below my ankles. This was becoming my favorite place to walk on ground that we had found yet. Kwala said it was sacred to the clan.

"It's all I have from my mother." I answered, hitching up the skin yet again.

"I could leave some clothes in that hollow tree, that way you don't feel so uncomfortable." the boy said as he pointed out the tree.

"Alright." I said. Guess my discomfort wasn't as hidden as I thought.

**Early Spring, 2000.**

He was crying again when I found him against the tree.

"What now?" I asked softly.

"My sisters said it was my fault our mother died." he said, his toe digging a hole in the sand.

"Do you believe them?" I asked.

"My dad says it's not. That she got hit by a drunk driver." he said, the hole getting a little bigger as he dug a little harder.

"Who tells you the truth more? Your dad or your sisters?" I asked.

"My dad. He's never lied to me before." he said.

"Then why would he be lying now?" I asked.

"I guess he wouldn't." he said, finally looking up at me. I held my hand out to him and pulled him up when he placed his hand in mine.

**Summer 2000.**

I was holding his hand as we watched the sun set. He squeezed it once before asking, "You gonna always come back on this date?"

I looked at him, his tears building, but not being shed, "As long as you need me."

**Early Summer, 2001.**

The boy wasn't on the beach, but he had shown me where his house was, so I ran there and pounded on the door of the little red house.

"Oh, it's you." the girl who looked like the other girl opened the door and said. "I'll go get him."

The boy came to the door and I couldn't stop myself from squealing, "Kwala said we could stay for the whole summer!"

He grabbed my hand and we ran all the way to the beach, laughter trailing behind us.

**Fall, 2002.**

"I don't know what to do about them! They get into my stuff, they steal my candy and break my toys. They're just plain mean!" the boy said.

"Have you tried throwing slimy things at them to get them to go away?" I asked.

"No." he said, a smirk growing on his face.

"How did you know that would work?" he asked the next time I saw him.

"Shipa threw fish guts at me when I first joined the family. He used to do it all the time to his older sister and she would scream and swim away from him. Shipa thought I would react the same way. He was bummed when I didn't."

"Who's Shipa?" he asked.

"My brother." I answered.

**Spring 2003**.

"Wanna learn to surf?" he asked.

"I don't have a board." I said staring longingly at the waves crashing onto the shore.

"I got a board for my birthday. We can share." His sunny smile was brighter than the sun

"Okay." I said grinning back at him.

**Spring, 2004.**

"I need you to keep this for me, Jake." I said holding out my mother's skin. Early in the year, I had finally grown my own so I no longer needed to use my mother's to transform. Keeping an extra skin on me while in the water was problematic at times, so I was going to give it to the land walker I trusted most.

"Anything, Bells." he said as he took the skin.

"You sure you can keep it safe for me? You can't let Rache or Becs get ahold of it." I narrowed my eyes, hoping he understood how precious this was to me.

"They don't pay attention to me anyways, anymore. It's all about them going off to college in the Fall." he said. "I have the perfect hiding spot for this."

**Early Spring, 2006**

I opened my ground walker eyes, closing them again almost instantly as the early morning light burned on my retinas. The spring storm had been brutal, separating Kwala and I from the rest of the clan. It was strong enough to burst me out of my skin after tossing me up on shore. Water lapped at my toes, tickling them as I flipped over, spotting something I never wanted to see.

Kwala was beached.

"No, nononono, this can't be happening." I mumbled before scrambling over to where she was laying. Feeling the dryness of her skin, I knew that if she didn't get back in the water soon, she wouldn't make it.

Looking around frantically, I recognized where we were. "Kwala I'm going to go get help. I'll be back soon."

Running over to the hollow tree, I grabbed the clothes Jake had hidden there for me and dressed quickly. Folding my skin tightly, I tucked it into the pocket before I took off for Jake's house.

Relief flooded through me as I ran up to the little red house. Pounding on the door, I heard the squeak of rubber wheels against the hard wood floors. The door opened, and I saw a man who looked like an older version of Jake sitting in a chair with wheels on it.

"Jake?" I managed to gasp out.

"Round back in the garage." he said, curiosity tinging his tone.

I took off around the house, hearing the music blaring from an old stereo as I got closer to the garage. Bursting through the door, my eyes searched frantically for the russet skin and black eyes of my friend. Finding him, I had to look up a whole lot further than I had the last time I had seen him. His deep eyes bore into mine, and for a moment, I forgot why I was trying to find him.

"Jake." I said, still breathing heavily. "Kwala's hurt, I need help."

"Jake? There's a hot girl in here, and she's calling your name. Am I hallucinating?" one of the other boys asked. He was shorter than both of the other boys, but wider.

"Jake?" I asked again. "I need your help. Kwala's dying!"

A leaner built boy elbowed Jake sharply, knocking Jake out of whatever funk he was in. I grabbed Jake's hand and tried pulling him towards the beach, "Come on, Jake."

"Embry, get Sue. Bells, where's Kwala?" he asked.

"Second Beach. _Come_ on, come _on_, _come on!_" I kept tugging at his arm, which was so much warmer than I remembered it being, but he wasn't budging.

"Em, we'll see you there? Quil, you coming with?" Jake asked as he finally started heading towards the door.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you." Quill, the stockier of the two boys said. The other boy, Em I guess, split off from us and headed towards the town as we headed for the beach. It wasn't quite as quickly as I wanted us to go, but we were making progress.

When we got to the top of the pathway down to the beach, I left the boys behind and ran to where Kwala was laying. Howls rose up from behind me, startling me into turning back around. Jake and Quil's heads were tipped back, the howls eerily similar to wolves howling. An answering howl came from the forest.

Arriving back at Kwala, I felt her skin, trying to see how dehydrated she had gotten in the few minutes I had been gone. The boys were hesitantly edging closer as I pressed along her jaw. Kwala opened her mouth and I felt along her tongue, trying to gauge the dampness.

Jake immediately pulled my arm back yelling, "Bells, are you crazy, you can't put your hand in a whale's mouth!"

"Kwala would never bite me, she would never hurt me!" I yelled back.

"This is Kwala? I thought Kwala was your mother!" Jake said as a few people trickling onto the beach, bringing buckets and towels.

"She _is_ my mother!" I yelled back at him. "She adopted me when mine died!"

"That is a killer whale!" he said pointing at Kwala. There was a small crowd gathering around us, listening in as we fought.

"No, really? You think I wouldn't know who I've been living with for the last fourteen years?" I yelled again, tears of frustration filling my eyes.

"How- What- You know what? We can talk about this later." All the fight seemed to deflate out of Jacob as he asked, "What do we do to help her?"

"She needs water immediately, since she's dehydrated. We need to get her back out in the water. I don't think there's any injuries, we just got tossed up on the shore."

People had started a line from the edge of the water to where Kwala was laying, passing a bucket back and forth. I looked out towards the ocean, shielding my eyes from the sun, trying to see if any of the clan were around. Shipa breached, letting me know that the rest of the clan saw us.

Clicking at Kwala, I ran toward the water's edge. Jake pulled me up short with a blazing hand wrapped around my bicep, "where are you going?"

"To talk to Shipa, I don't click so well topside." I replied pointing out towards where Shipa had breached.

The confusion on his face was cute, but I needed to get into the water, "Shipa, your brother?"

"Yup. I'll stay in the shallows, I only need a couple of feet water depth to hear and click." I said.

I laid down in the water, keeping just my nose above so I could breath, but still having my ears beneath the surface. The cacophony of sounds echoed chaotically in my ears, everyone in the clan calling out almost simultaneously. I clicked and called and there was instantaneous silence. Calling out very distinctly, Shipa asked about Kwala and whether or not she could get out to home waters or not.

I sat up a bit and clicked to Kwala, relaying Shipa's questions. She responded saying that she was a little sore along her stomach from when she beached but she thought that she would be fine. Kwala was just too far on shore to wiggle herself back out to water. Ducking back under water, I responded to Shipa.

"Can we move her back to the water?" I asked Jake since he was hovering on the edge of the shore. Looking back at Kwala, I saw she had towels draped over her and people were pouring water over them, keeping them damp.

"How far does she have to go before she can swim on her own?" Jake asked.

"Water needs to be about four, maybe five feet deep." I answered.

"How much does she weigh?" he asked.

"A lot?" Jake rolled his eyes at my flippant answer. "I'm not sure," I continued, "the normal amount for a killer whale?"

"I think we'll be able to move her. We can try in just a few minutes. I need to talk to Sam." he said before walking over to another giant man, who was almost as large as Jacob.

Sinking below the water, I sang out to Shipa to hold on, the ground walkers were going to try and get her out to the water.

Jake's friend Em, joined him and Quil along with three other boys that I had never met before. As many times as I had come to La Push, I had rarely seen anyone but Jake. I had only been interested in being with my friend.

The six of them stood in a sort of circle and talked for a bit. While they talked, I sat as close to Kwala as I could. Fussing with the towels draped over her head, I made sure they weren't impinging her vision.

"_So this is your Jake. He would make you a good mate._" Kwala clicked at me.

My cheeks burned as I glanced up, meeting Jake's eyes as he looked over at the two of us while continuing his discussion with the others. "_And how would you know that he would make a good mate?_"

"_With the way that you have talked about your Jake, and with the way that he reacts towards you, I can see it. You would make good calves together._" Kwala said.

"_Humans make babies, not calves_." I said, my cheeks flaming hotter with the topic of this conversation.

"_Details. You two would make fine offspring. He's well put together for a ground walker._"

"_Are you trying to get rid of me?_" I asked.

"_No, but I realize now that you will never find your mate if you continue swimming with the clan. Your kind mates for life, and you are old enough to be looking._" she said.

Jake and his friends finished their discussion and walked over towards where Kwala and I were sitting.

"Bella, this is Sam. Sam, Bella." Jake said reluctantly.

Sam, the tallest, but not by much, stuck his hand out. Jake had taught me about this a few years back, so I clasped his burning hand in mine and shook it a couple of times before releasing it quickly. "Bella, nice to meet you. We had begun to think that Jake's Bella was a figment of his imagination."

A couple of the guys elbowed Jake a bit when Sam said that. I ignored their roughhousing and said, "Nope. I am here in the flesh. Can you help Kwala out?"

"Yeah, I think we can. Where are the best points to lift from?" Sam asked.

I directed Sam on where it would be necessary to support Kwala's weight, one at head and tail, the others staggered along her length. Jake was at her head while the rest of the boys spread out, each getting a good hand hold.

"On three," Sam called out. "One, two, three."

At first I didn't see any movement except for the straining of each of the six boys arms as they staggered underneath Kwala's weight. After a few moments, Kwala's body was rising above the sand, the boys making steady progress as they lifted her. Sam called out, "Jacob, lead towards the water."

As they started moving her closer to the water, a giant splash of red soaking into the sand caught my eye. Immediately I cried out to Jake and his friends, "Shit. Put her down! She's bleeding."

Once they lowered her back down to the sand, I immediately started digging under her, trying to see exactly where the damage was. I clicked at her slapping my hands together for emphasis, "_sore? You call a giant puddle of blood coming from who knows where just sore?_"

"_My whole body hurts from being out of the ocean, how would I know the difference, youngling_?" her answer reminded me of the respect that she should be afforded.

"_Well this could be a big problem now, great mother._" I clicked respectfully as I got deep enough to see where the blood was coming from. She had a foot long gash an inch in from where her left pectoral fin met her body. It looked really deep. Kwala clicked at me fast paced, reminding me of things that might ease our way with this tribe.

"She might need to stay on land for a bit. Just so that she can get healed up, before going back out in the water." I said to Sam and Jake who were standing next to me as I checked out her injury. "Do you have any one who can look at this?"

"Sue is a nurse practitioner at the tribal clinic and was in the middle of something when Embry let her know about the injured person." Sam said. "She should be here any moment, and will be able to take a look. Don't know what she'll be able to do for a whale, though."

"I have to go out and talk to Shipa in a minute. Kwala said that we could claim Sanctuary from the Chief? She said to remind him of the old traditions?" Several hushed whispers met my questions.

"We'll have to get Billy, our chief, down here as soon as we can, this beach is not the most accessible to him." Sam said.

"I'm going out to the ocean to speak with my brother and the rest of my clan." Whistling and clicking would only get me so far, touch would be extremely necessary to reassure the rest of the clan that Kwala and I were alright. "I shouldn't be longer than twenty minutes. Will she be safe among the ground walkers?" I asked trying not to fall into the formal tones I knew would have to be invoked later on.

"She will be protected." Sam said.

Glancing over at Jacob, I noticed he seemed to be straining against invisible bonds. I made my way over to him, noticing his ease the closer I got to him. Grabbing his hand, I fiddled with his fingers as I used to do when we were younger and I was uncertain about something. "I'm just going out to talk to Shipa. I'll be back soon."

"Just come back to me." Jake said, worry still painting his face.

"Like the tide." I replied with a grin.

Swimming out to the clan was made infinitely easier, in that I drew on my skin after being out of visual range of the ground walkers on the beach. Shipa was the first one that I came into contact with, nuzzling under his chin as he made wide circles. He spent a few moments annoying me as much as possible, tugging on my back flippers and spitting water at me like only an annoying older brother can.

_You and mother were thrown up on shore? How is she?_ he asked as the rest of the clan gathered around us.

_She has large gash on the inside of her pectoral fin. _I explained to the clan._ Kwala's going to have to be shore bound for a little while in order to heal up a bit. She directed me to claim Sanctuary from the chief of the tribe. I will meet with him when we get back, also there will be a ground walker healer taking a look at Mother._

_Mother is bound to be starving. _Kisbiska, Shipa's older sister said. She had never warmed up to me in spite of the entire clan's welcome._ If we herd fish to you, will you be able to feed her while she is shore bound?_

_Yes, I can slip in and out of my skin while there. I cannot let the ground walkers see this form, so we'll have to devise a way to pen them in. I won't be able to handle larger animals that you all can eat, so please, smaller fish only please._ I asked, knowing that they were able to hunt and eat animals twice my size.

_Alright, we'll get on that Bella. Be safe among the ground walkers._ Kisbiska said, the closest thing to concern I had ever gotten from her.

Heading back towards shore, I listened to the clicks and whistles of my clan as they went in different directions to hunt. Still quite a bit out from the beach, I slipped out of my skin and secured it in my pocket. It took me quite a bit longer to swim in, since I was awkward in the water in comparison to the sleek aerodynamic shape that my seal form was.

As I reached the edge of the shore, Jake hauled me out of the water, wrapping me up in his heated embrace. The water evaporated quickly off of our skin as he walked me up towards Kwala and the rest of his tribe.

The older Jake look alike I had seen at the little red house was there, quiet dignity in every line as he watched as the two of us approached. A woman was laying down on her back with her head in the hole I had dug, inspecting the damage to Kwala. She looked at the two of us heading her way and got up, converging with us along with Sam as we met near Kwala's head.

"Bella, this is Billy Black, Chief of our tribe, and father to your Jake." Startled by this revelation, I looked up at Jake, who merely nodded in confirmation.

"And this is Sue Clearwater, the nurse practitioner I told you about." Sam continued the introductions. "Billy, Sue, this is Bella."

When I gently nudged against Jake's arms, he let me down so that my feet were touching the ground. Instead he grabbed my hand, not wanting to let go of the comfort of touch.

"Chief Black, sir, my mother, Kwala, would like to claim Sanctuary for an unknown amount of time. Any help that you might be able to give would be returned three-fold by our clan." I adopted the formal tones Kwala had instructed me to use.

"I will allow your claim for Sanctuary and we will protect and heal to the best of our abilities so that she can be on her way as soon as possible. I am curious, though, how you, a ground walker, come to claim a whale for your mother?"

Hearing the whale's term for human coming from another human shocked me for a moment. "Perhaps there can be an exchange of stories?"

"That would be acceptable." Jake's dad said with a grin almost as sunny as his son's.

"Perhaps it would be best to wait until a more opportune time?" I suggested.

"Of course. We shall make sure that your mother is taken care of before our exchange takes place. Sue, what can we do for Kwala's injury?"

"I have some sutures that I can use to stitch her up that will dissolve as she heals, but I don't want you attempting to move her for at least a half a day after I set them. You shouldn't risk ripping the stitches out getting her into the water."

"Sounds reasonable to me. Does that meet with your approval, Bella?"

I clicked to Kwala, letting her know what was going on and she responded quickly. "Yes, my clan will be herding some fish this way in order to get her the nutrients she needs. She hasn't eaten since yesterday, and is very hungry at the moment. Is this acceptable to you and yours?"

"Yes, that is acceptable." As soon as Billy agreed, Shipa breached, signaling that he had some fish ready for me.

Jake and I headed for the shoreline, and with his help, we got the fish speared, gutted, chopped into chunks, and fed to Kwala. Jake eventually wandered away, mumbling something about patrols and evil alphas.

"_That boy has it bad for you._" Kwala teased.

"_What?_" I nearly screeched.

"_He did not want to leave you. The look he had on his face when that Sam told him he had to go, now that was a classic, don't want to leave the love of my life's side, type look. You sure you don't want him for a mate? We could work out the details with his clan now._" Kwala said. I wasn't entirely sure she was teasing this time.

I splashed water at her before going back to spearing fish. A short time later, Sue came over and stitched Kwala up quickly. Kwala only complained a little bit after about the itchiness of the sutures.

A few hours later, I paused in my work as I listened in to the conversation going on behind me between Billy and another man. Not many realize how good my hearing is. Guess it's better than most other ground walkers.

"I don't know how long I can keep her presence here under wraps. Washington Department of Fishing and Wildlife would have my job if they found out I hadn't reported her immediately to them. And a killer whale is a little hard to hide."

"Well, Charlie, I'd appreciate anything you can do for us. We're pretty secluded, and everyone who's been working with us knows better than to spread rumors about a sacred one's presence. We haven't been blessed with one of them on our shores in decades. We just need a couple more hours for her to get healed up and we'll get her back in the water."

"I heard there's a girl involved in this mess?"

"Yeah, Jake's friend, goes by Bella or Bells. Don't know her last name, hell, I've never even seen her till this morning when she showed up looking for Jake. She bares an uncanny resemblance to Renee." I peeked over my shoulder and saw an older man standing next to Jake's dad. They looked to be about the same age, both with just a sprinkling of grey in their hair. His hair was cut short and close to his head unlike Billy's hair which fell nearly to his waist.

"Do you think..." he trailed off.

"Not for sure, but you can ask her yourself, she's right over there." Jake's dad answered.

"Bella?" Charlie, the man who had been talking to Billy, was standing there, hat in hand. He stiffened a bit as I turned to look at him. He catalogued each and every inch of me.

"Yeah?" I said as I studied him back. His brown eyes looked very similar to my own, and I had a vague recollection of a younger version of this man smiling down at me when I was younger.

"Bella Swan?" he asked hesitantly. A hush fell over the crowd, the quiet murmurings coming to a stop.

"How do you know my second name?" I asked, faintly remembering the name that my momma always called last when I got away from her. This was shortly followed by the three names that she yelled at me when she really couldn't find me.

"Your mother was Renee?" he asked, ignoring my own question.

"My momma was called Renee by other people. I just called her momma." Someone out in the crowd gasped and a few murmurings here and there started up.

The man reached out and pulled me to his chest, crushing me in his arms as he shook slightly. Pulling back to look into my eyes, he swiped the hair out of my face, silent tears coursing down his cheeks. "I'm your father, Charlie. You've been missing for fourteen years. They found your mother, but never you."

"I know, she told me to find Kwala, and I did."

"Kwala?"

I put my hand on Kwala, patting her on her head. "This is Kwala."

"How can you have been living with a whale?" Charlie asked, incredulous.

I looked around and edged us further from the crowd. "Did momma ever show you her skin?" I asked, hesitant. Momma had drilled into me the need for secrecy. But I figured, if she had been married to him, she probably would have told him our secret.

The shock was written all over his face. "But she said you aren't born with it, that you grow one when you're old enough."

"Momma wrapped me in her skin before releasing me to the water below the pier. I was swimming to Kwala when the pier exploded." I answered.

"Did you grow one of your own then if you've been using your mother's?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, Jake's been keeping Momma's for me. Said he knew a safe place." I said.

"Will you introduce me?" Charlie asked.

"To Kwala?"

He nodded.

"Sure." I said, shuffling back over to where Kwala was.

"_Kwala, this is Charlie. He was married to Renee, apparently he's my father._" I clicked at Kwala while gesturing to Charlie standing next to me.

"_**Greetings**_," Charlie said.

I turned to him completely surprised when he spoke in my mother's native tongue. Having not heard it in so long, I was momentarily stunned. Only Kwala's chittering at me shook me from my momentary stupor.

"Kwala says she's very happy to meet you. She was unaware that my sire still lived or they might have made more of an effort to find you." I translated quickly. Turning to Kwala as the last bit sunk into my head, I asked her, "_What do you mean you're going to leave me here with him?_"

"_He's your Sire. Ground walkers are different from Clan. Sire's take on responsibilities if the mother isn't able to._" Kwala explained.

Tears started burning my eyes, "_You want to get rid of me?_"

"_No, but he has a right to the option to take care of you. There are many ground walker things that you haven't learned because we do not have the means to teach them to you. This is your opportunity._"

"_But I don't want to leave the Clan_." I clicked, the tears streaming down my face.

"_You won't be leaving the Clan. The Clan will always be here for you, but you need to learn the ways of your Sire, the ways of the ground walkers._"

"_But I'm not a ground walker, I'm a Selkie!_" I protested loudly stomping my feet. A couple of people clapped their hands over their ears at the high pitch.

"_But you are also a ground walker, in spite of being able to turn your skin._" Kwala clicked sharply at me.

"_Well, I'm not going to bring it up, like some poor beggar who doesn't have a home. If he asks me to stay, I will, but only if he asks!_" I clicked almost as sharply as she had.

"Bella," I heard Charlie hedge at a moment of silence in our argument.

"Yeah, Charlie?" I asked turning to him.

"I didn't mean to start an arguement between the two of you." His bottom lip was pulled up underneath his mustache, probably biting it just as I was in the habit of doing.

"It's not your fault. I was clarifying a point of contention between the two of us." I said.

"Oh. Bella, where have you been?" he asked a look of concern pulling his eyebrows together.

"With Kwala." I answered.

"Year round? Your mother only spoke of her visiting during the summer months." Charlie asked.

"They changed their swimming patterns so that I could keep up with them. Kwala and Shipa also take turns swimming topside with me so that I can ride rather than swim the entire time. It's kind of like surfing." I answered.

"_What is he asking?_" Kwala asked.

"_He's asking about how I can live with you. I explained about swimming topside._" I clicked back.

"_Good. It's only a matter of time before he asks if you want to live with him._" Kwala clicked.

I rolled my eyes at her before looking back at Charlie's warm brown eyes, so similar to my own.

"I know that you don't really know me too well, but since you're my daughter and all, well, I have an extra room. It- it's still decorated from when you were four, but, if you wanted, it's yours. I have some money put aside, we could redecorate if you really don't like it." Charlie's face turned red as he stuttered his way through, and I could feel my own face burning in response.

"I- um." I stuttered just as badly as he did before taking a breath to calm myself. "I think that I would really like that."

"_Did he ask?_" Kwala clicked.

"_Yes._" I huffed back at her.

"_I told you!_" she gloated.

"Is Kwala going to be okay with you staying with me?" Charlie asked.

"She was already making plans for that possibility." I answered.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, the heat in my cheeks, which had slowly dissipated, returned.

"Alright then." Charlie turned and we both watched as Jake and his friends walked out of the tree line.

The six of them took the same places that they did before, lifting her with greater ease than I would have thought possible. Getting her out to the water was quick after that, hardly a splash was made as Kwala slipped back into home waters. I swam along with her for a bit, making sure she could make it out to further depths without any trouble.

"_I have to go do the story exchange I promised. Will the clan be in these waters for long? I know you were meaning to go further south this summer._" I called out to Kwala.

"_We will stay in the area this summer, so fear not._" Kwala answered back.

"_How can you say that when you are abandoning me to the ground walkers?_" I cried out in a near panic.

"_We are not abandoning you. The Clan will always be _your_ clan_." Kwala sang out before nuzzling me. "_Ah, little one, you forget the stories. Once Clan, always Clan. No matter how much time or distance separates us._"

"_Alright._" I answered, still unsure of my future on land.

"_I expect to hear a good report from you tomorrow. I want to know more about how things are going with your Jake._" Kwala said.

"_Oh, does Bella have a suitor now?_" Shipa sang out teasingly.

I smacked him on the nose before taking off back to the beach. "_I'll see you tomorrow!_"

"_Brat!_" he yelled after me.

There was a giant bonfire just being lit on the beach when I walked out of the waves. A lot of the people that had been helping out with Kwala were gathered around the fire as I approached. I saw my dad and Billy next to each other on the far side of the fire. Jake and Sam had their backs to me, looking like they were in the middle of a heavy conversation. I caught the tail end of it as I got closer to them.

"_...can't let Bella leave. She's my imprint, man. The wolf is already trying to tear his way out and find her with her being gone so long. I can barely control him_." Jake said.

"_I know, Jake. Just hold out a little longer. Your wolf will just have to wait._" Sam said.

"Jake, you turn furry? Can I see? Kwala said your people haven't shifted in years!" I said excitedly, remembering the stories our Clan had about this tribe and their spirit warriors. This would definitely make it easier to talk about being a Selkie. "But what's an _imprint_?"

Sam and Jake turned to me, shock written on both of their faces. Billy's voice carried over from across the fire, "You know Quileute?"

"Have you forgotten your own stories, Chief Billy Black of the Quileute?" I looked at him quizzically, ignoring the stares from the rest of the crowd. "Who taught the Quileute to sing?"

"The Whales did." Billy said, one eyebrow lifting in question. Sam eased away as Jake sidled up to me.

"And who do I live with? The language sounds the same underwater as you speaking it above water." I grabbed Jake's hand and fiddled with his fingers. "It's a slightly different dialect, but I can understand most of it. Some words don't translate, like _imprint_. What's an _imprint_?"

"We can explain that better during our exchange of stories." Billy said. I lifted an eyebrow at him but let it go for now.

Jake pulled me off to the side and started introducing me to the few people that were gathered there. There were the six guys that lifted Kwala out to the ocean. Jared and Paul were the two that I hadn't been introduced to. Jared had his arms wrapped around a pretty girl named Kim, but they were in their own little world just the two of them. I'm not entirely sure they realized they met me. Sam had his arms around a beautiful girl who was introduced to me as Emily. There were some scars down the side of her face, but rather than detracting from her beauty, they only made me think of her inner strength.

Sue Clearwater, as well as her husband Harry were huddled over by the 'older folks' as they called themselves. I was introduced to Old Quil, who was Quil's grandfather. Jared's parent's, Jenny and Robert Cameron were the last ones that I was introduced to. There weren't as many people at this gathering than I expected, but I was glad since there was fewer people to keep track of names and relationships.

After the introductions were done, Jake led us towards a table full of food. Not recognizing much of the food, Jake helped me load up a plate and we sat down to eat. As we ate, Billy started telling the legends of the tribe. The older ones were familiar to me since our Clan told them as well. The newer ones were interesting since Billy was great at telling them. As the legends were told, the sun slowly sank into the sea, the shadows deepening as the only light was from the blue flames of the bonfire.

The end of the Quileute legends came and I let the silence sit for a moment, contemplating how exactly I would tell my own story. My faith in Jake, and the trust his tribe gave to me by telling their own stories made it easier to share the legends of my own ancestors. Something we almost never do. I glanced over at Charlie and winked at him before starting, "The legends of the Selkie are very closely guarded secrets among my Clan. Very similar to the Spirit Wolves of the Quileute, the Selkie also has two shapes. The second shape is formed by a skin that is wrapped around the ground walker form. When immersed in salt water, they shift shape, taking on the form of a seal.

"Long ago, the island of the Selkies was slowly sinking into the sea. One day a large storm came upon them and the slowly sinking island was rapidly being eaten away. There was no time to pack and move as the people had thought. The people who lived there cried out to their gods asking for a way to save themselves or at the very least, their children. The gods answered their prayers, but at the cost of sacrificing their own lives for those of their children. They were told to wrap their children in the seal skins that they bartered with, and push them out to the ocean on their boats.

"The storm was rough and just as they pushed the last boat with the last child out into the ocean, the island was swallowed. Most of the boats were not meant for the heavy storm that had pressed upon them. Many of them started to sink, but when the children wrapped in seal skins were fully immersed in the water, they shifted forms, taking the shape of the skin they were wrapped in. The Selkie children were separated by the fierce storm and were forever destined to search for their lost family and home.

"Now the legend of the Smallest Selkie is the legend that you probably want to hear." I looked over at Charlie again smiling a sad smile, knowing how much this would probably hurt him. "The Momma Selkie had found her home in a small town, with a ground walker who soothed her soul. She didn't feel the need to search for family and home when she was with him. The two of them created their own little family, with the Smallest Selkie soon joining them. The Momma Selkie loved the two of them more than anything." I watched as Charlie's silent tears slowly slipped down his face. Taking a breath to calm myself, I soldiered on.

"But Selkie blood was sweeter than ground walker blood and red-eyes hunt the Selkies." Jake's arms tightened around me at the mention of red-eyes. "When the Smallest Selkie was four, three red-eyes found the Momma Selkie and her little family. Knowing no other way to combat the red-eyes, the Momma Selkie fled with the Smallest Selkie. Fleeing her home, she thought she had lost them in the crowds of Los Angeles. It was short lived however, and the red-eyes found them again. The Momma Selkie wrapped the Smallest Selkie in her own fur and entrusted the Smallest Selkie into the arms of the great mother, Kwala. The Momma Selkie died so that her child could live."

"And that is how I came to live with Kwala and the clan." I said as silence reigned among the gathered crowd.

"You turn into a seal?" Quil broke the quiet. I nodded my head as my cheeks burned. "Awesome! Can we see?"

"Only if I can see your wolf !" I said with as much excitement as Quil.

"You have a deal, girl!" Quil said as Sam choked on something.

"Why did you come on land if you could stay in seal form?" Jake asked.

"Kwala said I had to remember my feet. I never really understood what that meant, but she used to say it all the time." I answered, remembering the exasperation I felt from being forced on land when the Clan was where I wanted to be.

"That has to do with being Selkie. If you don't take human form often enough, you can get tied to the seal form and never be able to shift back." Charlie said, shocking everyone else. "Your momma told me a lot about her kind before she left."

"By the time I met Jake I had been with Kwala and the Clan for about seven years. My feet had lost the callouses from walking on the ground, I had forgotten more English than I remembered. I guess meeting Jake was the best thing that could have happened to me." I grinned at Jake as he squeezed me tighter in to his side.

"How did you avoid everyone else? We were pretty sure you were a figment of Jake's imagination. I think Rache or Becs said they had seen you a couple of times, but they were the only ones." Embry asked from the other side of Jake.

"My hearing's better than normal ground walkers, it makes it easy to avoid people I don't know. Plus I can always find Jake, I just follow my feet." I admitted hesitantly. Charlie's eyebrows attempted to attach themselves to his hairline at my admission.

"Alright, alright, enough talk, I want to see you shift!" Quil interrupted.

"After you," I said.

"Oh, but, ladies first." Quil insisted.

"I'm not a lady, I'm a Selkie." I challenged.

"Alright fine," Quil grumbled, kicking off his flip flops and starting to unbutton his pants. I tensed up, completely confused as to why he was taking off his clothes.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked, growlingly.

"Phasing, what are you doing?" Quil said with an innocent sounding lilt.

"Go phase in the treeline, ya dork. You don't need to give all the ladies a show." Jake rolled his eyes

"But you know they want to see this show." Quil grumbled under his breath as he stalked off towards the trees.

Moments later a huge chocolate brown wolf sauntered out of the forest, standing right in front of us. I stood up, hauling Jake up with me, and stood in front of Quil. Hesitant at first, I petted his soft fur and rubbed his velvety ears. Quil closed his eyes and wagged his tail a bit. I couldn't stop myself from saying, "Oh, Quil, you're so cute and fluffy! I always wanted a puppy!"

Most of the people around the fire cracked up as Quil snorted at me and flipped back around to go back into the forest, nearly taking me out with his giant tail. "Geez, Quil!"

Quil returned quickly, fully dressed, "Your turn, Swan, get to it."

"Alright, keep your panties on." I glanced over at Jake making sure I had the phrase right. A subtle head nod was my answer. He had been teaching me to slang that I wasn't exposed to living with the Clan.

I pulled my skin out of my pocket and wrapped it around my body. Heading out for the shore, I was stopped by a warm hand on my shoulder. Looking back, I saw Jake's worried gaze boring into my own. "I'm just going to hop in and hop out. Can't shift without salt water. I'll be back before you know it."

He nodded once and released his grasp. Jumping into the water, I let the shift take me, effortless in the change. Rolling a few times to get completely drenched. I clicked a few times to the Clan that was out in the water, but they seemed to be on a sleep cycle, not really responsive.

Coming out of the water I barked up at those further up the shore. Looking up a Jake, I realized my seal shape had grown as well as my ground walker shape. When I first came to live with the Clan, I would have only come up to Jake's knee, whereas now I come up to mid-chest.

Jake ran his hands along the top of my head, feeling the fine fur that covered it. I stuck my tongue out at him when he tweaked my ears. When he did it again, I pushed into him with my chest, knocking him down, and pinning him there with my body. I wrapped my fins around his arms, effectively immobilizing him since I weighed at least three hundred fifty pounds more in this form than when a ground walker. I started dragging my whiskers along the sides of his neck which I knew was extremely ticklish. The expected reaction was immediate, causing him to laugh loudly, almost bouncing me off of his chest.

"Uncle, uncle!" Jake said barely wheezing out between laughs.

I slithered off of him and made my slow but awkward way over to where Charlie was standing nearby. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Jake got up off the ground and followed me over to where I was sniffing all over my dad. Catching a whiff of a scent I remember being closely tied to my mother's, I tugged on his shirt to get him to bend down a bit. Apparently my mother used to do that with him, and he easily acquiesced to my unspoken request.

Burying my nose deep into the crook of his neck, I inhaled the scent from my past. The smell of security, warmth, and love. I had found my home. Tears leaked down my face as Charlie wrapped his arms around my neck and moved to sit down in the sand, getting in a more comfortable position. Following his movements, I didn't want to get further away from him than I had to. We stayed like that with people moving on back to the bonfire, Jake the only one who remained.

Taking a deep breath, I unfurled from my skin and the three of us made our way back to the fire. The smell of burnt sugar was in the air and I immediately grabbed Jake's hand and hurried us over.

"You promised me those marsh-thingies, Jake!" I exclaimed.

"Their called marshmallows. Remember Bells?" he replied exasperated.

"You've never had marshmallows before, Bella?" Quil asked.

"I've never had lots of things before." I replied my face burning.

"Oh, man, we have got to get you to taste a s'more then!" Embry said excitedly.

"Okay!" I said as I watched them build one and hand it over. Following Jacob's advice on waiting for it to cool, when I finally sank my teeth into the s'more, it was like heaven. Fluffy and gooey, and crunchy, the combination of flavors and textures was amazing.

"Good, Bells?" Jake asked, tugging at my elbow, trying to sneak a bite. I narrowed my eyes at him pulled the s'more closer to my chest, keeping it away from him. He turned the puppy dog eyes and full on lip pout and said, "You're not going to share?"

I rolled my eyes at his antics and said, "Get your own. You'd finish this off in one bite!"

Chuckles broke out around the circle, most of it from the direction of Billy and Charlie.

"So what happens now, Bella? You going to visit us more often now that more of us know who you are?" Embry asked, handing me a new s'more once the first one was done.

"Um, actually I'm going to move in with my dad. Kwala traded me for two fish." I giggled as the sugar rush hit my system. Having only had processed sugar whenever Jake could sneak us some, my body was completely unprepared for the amount of sugar packed into those two wonderful, amazing sandwiches of goodness. I leaned into Jake, giggling softly with a slightly dazed smile on my face.

"Two fish?" Sam asked. I was too busy staring at the fire, watching the pretty flames dance to answer him.

"Whale equivalent for giving something away for free." Charlie answered for me. He got up walked over towards where we were sitting. "I'm gonna need to take her home. She's gonna pass out in about five minutes."

Their voices started to fade away as Jake picked me up. I perked up remembering my question from earlier, "Whas' imprinting, Jake?"

"I'll tell you in the morning." Jake answered as he followed Charlie away from the fire.

"K." I whispered as my eyelids slowly shut and I drifted off.

* * *

A/N: Let me just say now, I am not, nor will I ever be an expert on the Quileute Nation, their legends, or killer whales. What information I found was from very light researching on the web. The rest is from my very active imagination. Any mistakes made were completely on my part. Hope you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So, with encouragement from Taoist Elf, I extended this little one shot. It wlll probably be around three chapters, maybe four, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to writing the next chapter. I'm still in the middle of posting Hellhounds & Demons. Hopefully it piques your interest.

* * *

**Finding Home**

Chapter 2

Warmth like I'd never felt before wrapped me in comfort like cashmere as I slowly drifted up from the depths of sleep. My own body heat had never kept me this warm and toasty, even in my selkie skin. Barely conscious, I was nearly lulled back to sleep by the gentle rocking heat that matched the warm breeze that rifled through my hair.

"Bells, Jake, breakfast!" cut through the last shrouds of sleep as my island of yumminess startled and sat up, bringing me with it.

"Bells?" Jake rasped before yawning and stretching, my body falling to the mattress with a soft thump when he finally released his hold on me. "Oh, shit, honey, you okay?"

"Yeah, what's breakfast?" I asked, rubbing my eyes to remove the crustiness from my eyes. This was new, I didn't remember what it was like to sleep in ground walker form. I wondered what else happens when you sleep.

"First meal of the day." Jake answered, used to my random and some what odd questions.

"Okay." I said as I clambered out of bed. The rug was nearly my undoing as I tripped, arms splayed as I tried to catch myself as I hurtled towards the floor. Warm arms scooped me up, inches above the shiny hardwood floors.

"If you didn't want out of my arms so bad, you didn't have to go throwing yourself at the floor. You could have just said so." Jake said teasingly.

I craned my neck to look back at him and elbowed his ribs hard. "You know my balance is off the first couple of days back, jerk."

Jake just grinned and laid a smacking kiss to my forehead before releasing me.

"Jake, Bells?" Charlie's voice echoed up the stairs, closer than it was before.

"We're coming, Charlie!" Jake hollered back as he opened the door and led the way out. Charlie stood there, dishcloth thrown over one shoulder as he watched them descend the stairs. Halfway down, I tripped on something again and fell into Jake's warm back.

"Geez, Bells, do I need to carry you? You're not usually this bad on your feet." Jake asked as he waited for me to right myself again.

"That would be from the sugar, Bells." Charlie's mustache twitched as he tried to hold in a laugh. "Your momma called it a sugar hangover. She was even worse when she was pregnant with you. Come on you two, breakfast is ready."

The three of them walked towards the room were the strange scents were coming from. Jake pulled out a chair for me before seating himself at the table. I looked at him questioningly as I pointed to the ceiling, then rotated my wrist, making one large circle.

Jake sighed before rattling off, "We're in the kitchen, sitting at the table on chairs." Jake paused for a moment and pointed at the different food items on each plate. "This is eggs, bacon, and sausage. That's toast with butter and the little pots contain jam."

"Spell them please?" I asked quietly.

"Let's eat first, then we'll go over anything you want in the house." Charlie interrupted. "Dig in."

They ate quietly, I was completely absorbed by the new flavors that burst across my tongue. I think my favorite was bacon. It was _sooo_ good!

"Bells," Charlie spoke up after I had the chance to taste everything, "you can have this jam on your toast but use it sparingly. It doesn't have any processed sugars but it has plenty of natural sugars that can get you tipsy. You might also have trouble with some carbs so no more than two slices of toast for now."

Shock rippled through me as I realized how lucky Jake and I had been that I hadn't eaten something that was bad for me before. He was always sharing some sort of food with me whenever he could sneak it out. Especially sugary treats. I wondered why they never really affected me as much as last night. I'll have to ask Charlie about it later.

I was done with my breakfast, so Jacob switched plates and finished off my leftovers. Having been used to this before, I didn't blink, although Charlie looked questioningly at us.

"Do you have to go into work Charlie?" Jake asked as I started cataloguing all the different things in the kitchen that I wanted to ask about.

"No. I took the next couple of weeks off. Figured there would be a lot of settling in Bella would need and I want to be here for her." Charlie explained with a nod at me. My attention was brought back to their conversation at the mention of my name.

"What's work?" I asked.

"It's what I do for a living. I'm the Chief of Police of Forks." Charlie answered.

I lifted up the fork that was still on the table. "Forks?"

"No, the town is called Forks." Charlie said with a chuckle. "I keep the peace around here."

"Why? Can't people keep the peace themselves?" I asked.

"Not very well." Charlie replied. "The government, people in charge, appointed me to be in charge of making sure everyone follows the law."

"Oh. But why would you want to do that? Do you like being in charge of people?"

"I guess, its a good job. Pays well enough." Charlie answered.

"What is pays?" I asked.

"Money, Bells." Jake said with patience. "Remember how I get money for my birthday sometimes? I used it to buy us chocolate at the store? Most people have a job to pay for things they need like food, this house, basic necessities. Humans don't live off the land anymore."

"Oh. Do I need to get a job? I'm not sure what I could do." I said trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

"No, Bells. You're going to go to school. Once we figure out where you're at grade level wise." Charlie explained.

"Okay." I said not really sure what school was, but figured that was more than enough questions for the morning.

"Come on Bells, let's clean up the kitchen while Charlie here takes a shower." Jacob said standing and pulling out the chair for me. It was a little disconcerting how easily he could push me around. But this was my Jake, he would never hurt me.

"We're going to head down to Sue's in a bit. I'm going to have her take Bella shopping for clothes and such, and then we'll meet up with Joy Ateara at the school on the rez. She was going to set up some specialized testing for Bella. We'll drop you off at school _first_." Charlie said with a stern glance at Jacob.

"Ah, Charlie, don't you want me to help out with Bells?" Jake asked.

"I'm not a project that Charlie needs _help_ with, Jacob Black." I said stomping my feet.

"Bells and I will muddle through." Charlie said, ignoring my slight tantrum, but putting his arm around my shoulder so that I knew he wasn't ignoring me. "I did with Renee when we first met, I'm sure I can do it now with Bells. Besides, what's this I've been hearing about you skipping more days at school?"

"But-" Jacob tried to interject.

"Your dad's worried enough about you," Charlie continued, "I'm not going to contribute any more. Now it's a Friday, which means the two of you will have all weekend to hang out together. I expect you to go to school and get your homework done, or no coming over. Got that?"

"Yes, sir." Jacob said, slightly dejected.

"Alright, now help Bells clean up, like you promised, and I'll take a quick shower and we'll be on our way." Charlie said.

"What's a shower?" I asked Jake just to see the awkward blush rise in his cheeks. He figured it out quickly when he saw the grin nearly split my lips.

"Come on, question machine, let's get the dishes done." Jacob said as he tossed a rag at my face. I barely caught it in time. "Then you can take a shower and we can get going. Apparently I have to go to _school_."

"Aw, poor Jakey. You have to learn things." I smirked as I reached into the murky water and pulled out a dish. I cleaned it off before handing it over to Jake.

"Eh, it's not so bad, school. Just wish I could hang out with you. I've missed you." Jake said.

"I've missed you too." I replied, dipping my hand in for another dish. Sharp pain twisted along my hand and I hissed before I quickly pulled it out of the water.

"Shit, Bells, what did you do to yourself?" Jake asked as he saw the murky water turn pink with the addition of my blood. Opening my hand so we could look at the damage, there was a line cut open on my left hand from the tip of my middle finger, all the way up to the heel of my hand. It didn't seem super deep, but it was bleeding like crazy.

Jake rinsed my hand off in clean water then wrapped it tightly in a clean dish towel. He directed me to sit on the couch as he ran up to bang on the bathroom door, hollering through it, "Bells cut herself, I'm taking her to the hospital."

He sprinted back down the stairs and picked me up off the couch. An old red truck was in the driveway next to Charlie's cruiser and Jake bundled me into that before hopping in the driver's seat. Flipping down the visor, he caught the keys deftly before shoving them into the ignition. The beast roared to cantankerous life as Jake shoved the gear shift into reverse and peeled out of the driveway. Ten minutes later we were at Forks County General walking into the Emergency Room.

No more than five minutes passed when Charlie rushed in, hair wet, clothes damp, searching frantically for the two of them. He found us quickly and swiftly walked over. "Let's go. We're going to go down to the Rez clinic."

I looked at him questioningly, the clinic was a good forty-five minute drive, thirty-five if you were speeding.

"Cullens." Charlie said quietly.

"Shit, let's go." Jacob said, pulling me up into his arms and making his way to the entrance.

"Cullens? What's that?" I asked, confusion hiking the pitch up a notch.

"Not now Bells." Charlie said quietly. "Get in the back of the cruiser, we'll come back for the truck. You going to have problems with the sirens?"

"Yeah, you mind not using 'em?" Jake asked as we approached Charlie's cruiser which was parked just outside the Emergency Room doors, driver's side door still open. Jake climbed in behind me in the back, but pulled me onto his lap before I could protest. Charlie pulled out quickly, making as little extra noise as possible. The lights on top of the cruiser were on as soon as we hit the streets.

"Shouldn't take too long, how's the cut?" Charlie asked back to us, attention fully on the road ahead of us.

"It wasn't too deep on her finger, but was worse on her palm." Jake stretched out my hand in front of him. "She's starting to bleed through the towel. I'm going to tie it a bit tighter."

I hissed as the pain pulsed in my palm once Jake cinched the towel firmly. "I hope there was no blood left behind. Keep an eye out Jake. And call your dad, let him know we're on our way down."

In spite of the tension that was radiating from both Jake and Charlie, the warmth of Jake's arms and the steady cadence of the wiper blades combating against the light drizzle, slowly pulled me down into a light doze. Knowing we weren't going to be getting somewhere for a while, I felt safe enough to drift off.

XOX

_One cold, lifeless finger reached down and swiped up the lone drop of blood. Smelling of an ambrosial bouquet of strawberries and freesia, golden eyes went black as a deep whiff settled into lungs no longer needing air to sustain it. The aroma overpowered any of the creeping scents of death and decay prevailing along the corridors of the hospital. Copper highlights gleamed under the insipid wash of industrial lighting as only one thought ran through his head. _

Mine.

XOX

I was sitting in one of the bean bags in the Kindergarten room, looking at one of the picture books. _Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever_ was the greatest book ever! It was perfect for what I needed. Then I wouldn't feel like such a dork for not knowing the words for things. I wondered if there were any more like it. I'll have to ask Mrs. Ateara - _Joy_ - when she comes back.

We had spent quite a bit of the morning with Sue Clearwater. First she stitched up my hand, and then she helped me find clothes that would fit. I was temporarily borrowing some old clothes of her daughter Leah's at least until Sue could go out shopping for me. Which she headed off to do as Charlie took me to the school to take my tests. Which I did not like very much. They made me feel stupid since I wasn't familiar with a lot of things that they were asking about.

The sound of Charlie and Joy's footsteps echoed along the hall and I heard, or rather, didn't hear as they paused outside the door. "How'd she do?"

"She's reading at about a third grade level, but her information retention is amazing. I would only have to correct her once and she would catch on to what I was trying to get her to do. Her IQ level is fairly high, she merely has very little experience with the written word and quite a bit of vocabulary. You said she's had no formal schooling whatsoever?"

"Yes, I know that the only reading or writing she has learned has been from Jacob." Charlie replied. "And as far as I can tell, that's been in the summer time mostly. What kid is going to want to read or write or learn during their off-time? She has been with the Clan for the last fourteen years, their learning is completely oral based."

"The amount of information that is stuffed into her tiny little head amazes me. Her math skills are beyond anything I've ever seen, inspite of the fact that she does it completely in her head. She corrected the Quileute language arts teacher's grammar and knows the legends and histories of our tribe better than I do. I think the only one who knows more is Old Quil or Billy Black."

"Renee was like that, she could do all sorts of math in her head." Charlie said. "Has to do with the ability to navigate the oceans. Bet you you could put her out in the middle of a forest with just a map and she would have no problems finding her way home. Doubt she'd need a compass."

"I think if we get her vocabulary and reading skills up to par, she could join in with Jacob's class quite easily. Maybe it will help him be a little more focused at school. Can I send some books home with you two over the weekend and have you bring her back in on Monday for further assessment? We can work out a homeschooling schedule then."

"Yes, that sounds perfect, Joy." Charlie said as he pushed the door open, indicating for her to step through.

I looked up as if I hadn't caught the entire conversation in the hallway. Charlie probably knew how good my hearing was and wouldn't be surprised with my knowledge of their tête-à-tête. Hefting up the book I held in my hands, I asked, "Can I borrow this? And any other books like it?"

"Of course, Bella. I have a couple of other books I'd like to suggest for you to take with you over the weekend." Joy said with a smile on her face. She quickly gathered a couple of books from around the room to add them to a pile already stacked on the table. "These will be perfect for vocabulary building."

I covertly watched both Charlie and Joy as they finished up their conversation, hiding behind both the picture book and my hair. I didn't have to wait long, Joy excusing herself with a hand on Charlie's arm. When I was sure of her being out of hearing range, I teased, "Someone _likes_ you!"

Red suffused Charlie's face as he spluttered, "What? That- Huh- That can't be true!"

"It was all in your body language. She totally has the hots for you, and if what I read could be right you like her, too." I replied with a grin.

"Um, no, if anything it was familial affection. She's my cousin's widow. Quil and I were quite close when he was alive." Charlie explained.

"Yeah, that may be true, but she _likes you_ likes you. You know - ready and willing to have your babies - likes you. Are you going to make me stay an only child for the rest of my life?" I asked.

"What?" The incredulous tone in his voice put his tone up an octave.

"She's still fertile, I can smell it. And you'll be able to reproduce for quite some time now." I said. "Don't you want to give me a baby brother or sister for my birthday? I haven't gotten a present from you for fourteen years. We can wrap this up as one big, fourteen years worth of presents - present, hopefully in time for my birthday next year."

Charlie choked as the blood drained out of his face.

"Your face!" I laughed as I pointed at him. "Geeze, Dad, I don't need a brother or sister that badly."

A sigh issued from his mouth as I continued on. "But, seriously Dad, Joy likes you. And you like her. If you two were in the Clan, you'd have been obligated to take her on as your mate since there's no blood tie. She is your cousin's widow."

A bit of color leached back into Charlie's face as he stammered a bit. "Uh, I don't - I don't rightly know that I'm up for that. I was in love with your Momma."

"Momma's gone." I said solemnly. "She's never coming back. And she would have been the first one to tell you that you should move on and be happy. If you can find _Home_ and be happy with someone else, you should. Do you like her?"

"Uh- Bells, should we really be discussing this?" Charlie whined a bit.

"Do you like her?" I asked sternly.

"Yeah. I do Bells." Charlie said shortly, red suffusing his face as his heel tried to make a hole in the ground.

"Then take her some fish. Or whatever the human equivalent is." I said simply.

"Date, Bells. We ask people out on a date." Charlie answered.

"Do that then. Bet you she won't say no." I smiled. The sounds of pounding footsteps echoed in the halls faintly, slowly getting louder as they got closer and closer. The door banged open and Seth stood there, panting heavily.

"Bells, there's a killer whale on the beach again!" He said as he tried to pull air into his laboring lungs.

"Crap. It's probably Shipa. He get's impatient." I said before grabbing the books off the table and hurrying towards the door. "You coming, Dad?"

"Yeah, I'll drop you off, but then I'm heading over to Billy's. I'll send Jake and have him bring you over when you're done with the Clan." Charlie answered.

We made quick time to the beach where Kwala had been beached yesterday, and sure enough, Shipa was there in his gigantic, fat-headed, glory. He wasn't completely out of the water, just in the shallows. Younger males were very competitive in their hunting, sometimes beaching themselves to get to their prey and then shimmying back to the ocean with them. Shipa's expertise in this maneuver was what lead him to 'beach' himself now, apparently to get my attention. There were a couple of other Quileutes on the beach, probably worried that Shipa couldn't get himself back out to sea.

"_You just couldn't wait for me to come to you could you_?" I asked in Quileute trying to test out a theory.

Shipa spit out a mouth full of water at me, cackling just before answering. "_Of course. We grow impatient to learn news. Why do I smell blood?_"

"_I cut myself. See?_" I answered, stretching my hand out so that he could see my hand.

"_You're sewn up just like mother._" He said.

"_Apparently it's quite common among ground walkers._" I answered. The smell of Home wrapped around me as Jake's soothing heat enveloped me, his arms encircling my midriff. I leaned back into him and breathed in deeply.

"_Oh, well does that mean you can't come out? Mother would like to see you._" Shipa asked.

"_I'm not sure, I'd have to ask Sue._" I answered.

"_Ask, I'll be here._"

I turned to Seth, who was still on the beach and asked, "Is your mom home?"

"Yeah, she got home an hour ago. Has some stuff for you." Seth answered.

"Let's head there then." I said as I grabbed Jake's hand, reluctant to lose contact with him, even for a little while. We had been separated for too long, at least to me.

"Why don't I just call her?" Seth asked.

"Call her?" I asked as Seth pulled out a small device.

"It's a phone, Bells." Jake said as Seth held the phone up to his ear. "Why could I understand the whale this time?"

"I kinda figured you would. I spoke to him in Quileute, he answered in his version. It's very similar to what you speak. You were listening for it since I told you that whale's sing in Quileute. Very different from clicking which is what we were speaking in yesterday." I answered, hoping my explanation was understood. His nod was enough to know that the idea was gotten across.

Seth hung up the phone and joined back in the conversation, "She said you can't get the stitches wet for another couple of days. No swimming for you."

"_Shipa, I can't get my hand wet for another couple of days. Want to swim me out?_" I asked.

"_Swim you out?_" Jake asked.

"_Yeah, I'll ride topside, that way the Clan can see that I'm alright._" I answered.

"_And you're not going to fall in the water?_" Jake asked skeptical.

"_You could always come with me._" I suggested, knowing that the extra weight wouldn't make much of a difference to Shipa since I rode topside in Selkie form as well as human.

"_You sure?_" Jake asked turning towards Shipa.

"_Of course, young wolf. I would be proud to carry my sister and her _suitor." Shipa answered with another cackling laugh. I dug my toe into the ground staring at the small hole it was making.

"_Suitor?_" Jake asked.

"_Sure, Kwala is planning on making arrangements with your chief as soon as she's healed up. Probably a couple of weeks._" Shipa informed Jake as my face burned with embarrassment. Pretty sure my face was red as a tomato, I kept my attention on the slight trough I was making in the sand.

"_Oh really,_" Jake said as he jiggled my elbow. "_You got anything to say about this?_"

"_Only that Kwala knows how much I lo- like you, and wanted to make sure that I stayed where I was comfortable._" I said, hoping that Jake wouldn't catch on to my slip. From the way the grin split his face, I was pretty sure he caught it. "_Come on, let's get going._"

"_Alright, Bells, whatever you say._" Jake said.

Shipa quickly shimmied so that he was parallel to the shore line. I directed Jake to pick me up and place me on Shipa's back so that I was straddling him behind his blowhole. Patting the surface behind me, indicating that Jake should sit there, Shipa started to writhe his way out to the ocean. Jake jumped up quickly and I leaned into him, letting his heat soak into my back as our legs dangled into the cool ocean.

The swim out was quick, as was the conversation with Kwala and the rest of the Clan. Jake had no problems speaking with Kwala just as he had with Shipa. We discussed the legends that the Clan did not know, adding them to their own histories of the Quileute people. Kwala was glad to hear of the welcome acceptance I had received from the Quileute people as well as my dad.

Just before Shipa left to take us back to shore, Tidikats, one of the young whales who always wanted to play with me, swam up and lightly nipped at my toes. Leaning over to pet his little head, Jake grabbed my hips to keep me from falling into the water. I promised to come out and see him as soon as I was healed up and we could play tag.

As Shipa swam us back, Jake commented, "You know, I remember Sue putting glue on one of my cuts back before I shifted. It was waterproof so I didn't have to worry about getting it wet. Maybe she could switch out the stitches for the glue, that way you can go play with Tidikats sooner, rather than later. I saw the longing on your face when he swam up and asked you to play."

"Really? They make glue that can glue ground walkers back together?" I asked.

"People, Bells, you gotta get used to saying people." Jake said with a smirk.

XOX

After kissing Shipa on his snout and sending him on his way, Jake and I headed towards his home. The beach had emptied of people when we got back and the roads were quiet as we walked the short distance.

Charlie, Billy, and Sam were sitting outside on the porch in the weak spring sunlight, apparently waiting for us to make an appearance. Sam was the first to break the heavy silence, "Jake, man, we gotta go. The Cullens want a meeting."

"Alright. We going as pack?" Jake asked, escorting me up onto the porch.

"Yeah, but they've got a condition. One you're not going to like." Sam said preparing Jake for the news.

"What is it?" Jake said, tension stiffening his shoulders.

"They want us to bring Bella." Sam said with reluctance.


End file.
